


Don't Trust Me

by avesnongrata



Series: Maria/Natasha Ficlet Collection [2]
Category: Black Widow (Comics)
Genre: Angst, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-18
Updated: 2014-07-18
Packaged: 2018-02-09 10:33:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1979568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avesnongrata/pseuds/avesnongrata
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natasha slinks into Maria Hill's office, unannounced and unexpected. <br/>"I quit."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Trust Me

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in the world of Edmondson's Black Widow comics (2014), somewhere after #6, but there aren't any real spoilers. 
> 
> Written in response to a tumblr anon, who prompted me with the pairing and the line of dialogue, "Don't trust me."

Natasha slinks into Maria Hill's office, unannounced and unexpected.

"I quit."

Maria looks up from her pile of paperwork and levels a cool stare at her. "Excuse me?"

"The job. I don't want it; find someone else." Natasha stares back at her just as coldly.

Maria raises an eyebrow, trying to read Natasha’s expression and body language. As usual, her crossed arms and blank face tell her nothing, except that something is wrong. Maria has no choice but to stall for time and try to coax more information out of her. “I'm sorry, Romanov, you'll have to tender your resignation tomorrow during regular business hours.”

“Bullshit,” Natasha spits. “It's two in the morning, Hill, and you're still here working. Since when do you care about business hours?”

Maria ignores her, choosing instead to focus on refusing to let Natasha just quit on her. Rising from her chair, she comes out from behind her desk and stands toe-to-toe with her. She crosses her arms, matching Natasha’s terse attitude down to the last harsh edge. “No. Unacceptable. I need you on this. Like I said before: you're the only person I can – “

“Don't.” Natasha’s voice is soft, and it carries a hint of the exhaustion that always seems to cloud her eyes. It’s such a dramatic change from her previous tone that Maria is completely taken aback.

“I... what?”

“Don't trust me.”

Maria only stares at her, daring her to explain herself.

“I'm a killer for hire; that's all I've ever been. And I'm telling you, the pay's not nearly good enough to make this worth my while. I quit.” The coldness edges its way back into Natasha’s voice, but it doesn’t quite displace the exhaustion. There’s something else in her tone, too, but Maria can’t quite tell what it is. Pain, maybe, or possibly even fear.

“Is that what this is to you? A paycheck?”

Natasha’s jaw clenches, but she doesn’t answer. Neither one of them wants to be the first to acknowledge that this is not entirely about Natasha’s work as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. They don’t talk about raking fingernails, clicking teeth, or tangled limbs. They don’t talk about pulled hair, torn clothing, ragged breaths, arched backs. They’ve never talked about it, not the first time, nor any of the times that followed.

“Come on, Natasha, tell me what's going on.”

Natasha crosses her arms even tighter, folding in on herself. She drops her eyes to a spot on the floor and frowns as she speaks. “I'm dead in the water. I don't have enough intel to go on, but the more I keep digging, the more people will get hurt. Eventually, they'll trace me back to you, and I can't have that.”

“Do you think I'm an idiot?” The question is harsh, but Maria’s voice is not.

This time it’s Natasha’s turn to be caught off guard. “What?”

“Do you think I trust you because I think you're infallible? I know there's a real chance we won't win this one, even with your help. But without you, there's no hope at all.” Natasha shakes her head, starting to protest, but Maria continues. “If you fail, you fail. I'm prepared for that. I'm also prepared to help you pick up the pieces afterward, no matter what that entails.”

Natasha blinks, nonplussed. “I thought you said you can't use S.H.I.E.L.D. resources to back this.”

“I'm not talking about S.H.I.E.L.D.” Maria wraps her arms around Natasha’s waist and pulls her close. Natasha stiffens, stunned by this new level of intimacy, but slowly the tension eases and she drops her forehead onto Maria’s shoulder.

Maria rests her own cheek against Natasha’s, speaking close to her ear. “I trust you. And I'll support you. I just need you to trust me, too.”


End file.
